The CEO of the popular video-sharing app TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is slated to meet with top-ranking industrial regulators at the European Union this week. The reason for the rendezvous stems from allegations of “disinformation” being spread on the app during the recent Israel-Hamas conflict. This forthcoming meeting in Brussels marks the second visit for the TikTok head, signaling an escalating regulatory microscope on TikTok’s role in the diffusion of alleged misinformation.
Shou Zi Chew is expected to meet with pro-censorship EU industry chief Thierry Breton, equally pro-censorship EU digital chief Věra Jourová, and EU antitrust chief Didier Reynders to discuss these matters in detail. He will be specifically updating the commissioners about “Project Clover,” an initiative by TikTok to enhance data security, which had started storing European user data locally this year. Towards this end, the company has set up its data center in Dublin, Ireland, and is in the process of constructing two more in Ireland and Norway.
The issue of content controls is another prioritized agenda for the meeting, especially in light of the European Union’s new online content rules, known as the Digital Services Act. This Act calls on Big Tech to adopt more stringent measures to weed out illegal and harmful content from their platforms. By providing a detailed overview of the company’s praxis aligning with these new norms, Chew aims to establish the company’s commitment to ensuring platform integrity.
Breton last month had given TikTok a deadline of October 25th to furnish details of its censorship measures. The social media giant was also asked to provide particulars by November 8th on its methodologies to safeguard election integrity and protect young users on its platform. Chew’s visit thus also hopes to address these demands.
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